EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation

Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997

Determination 2009/33 to vary and abolish a Special Account

Purposes of Determination 2009/33

The attached instrument makes a determination under subsections 20 (2) and (3) of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) to vary and subsequently abolish the Australian Geological Survey Organisation Account.

Special Accounts generally

In accordance with the Constitution, all revenues or moneys raised or received by the Government of the Commonwealth form one Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) and may not be spent unless under an appropriation by the Parliament for the purposes of the Commonwealth.  A Special Account may be established by a determination that sets out the amounts that may be credited and the purposes for which it may be debited. Special Accounts established by determination are supported by an appropriation under section 20 of the FMA Act.  In effect, Special Accounts allow amounts from the CRF to be spent on the purposes specified in the determination.

Determinations that establish Special Accounts, or vary determinations that establish Special Accounts, are subject to section 22 of the FMA Act.  Section 22 of the FMA Act requires the Finance Minister to table a copy of the establishing or varying determination in each House of the Parliament. Either House may disallow a determination within five sitting days of tabling.  If the determination is not disallowed, it comes into effect on the calendar day after the last day on which it could have been disallowed.

Regulation 10 of the Legislative Instruments Regulations 2004 preserves the disallowance provisions under section 22 of the FMA Act by exempting Special Account determinations from subsections 57(2) and 57(5) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

Special Accounts can be abolished by a determination of the Finance Minister.  However, such a determination is not subject to parliamentary disallowance.

Operation of Determination 2009/33

Reasons for varying the Special Account

A new Special Account, entitled the Joint Australian U.S. Geological and Geophysical Research Station Special Account (JGGRS Special Account), will be established in order to give effect to changes that are required to the Australian Geological Survey Organisation Account (AGSO Account), but which are not practicable to make by variation to the AGSO Account due to the way in which the Initial Determination was structured.

The current purpose of the AGSO Account is:

For expenditure on agreed research projects and other program activities performed in conjunction with, or for private or other entities.

Change required

A clause has been inserted to allow amounts to be debited from the AGSO Account and credited to the new JGGRS Special Account.

Effect of this Determination

This Determination varies the AGSO Account to allow its balance to be credited to the new JGGRS Special Account.  There may therefore be two Special Accounts with similar purposes operating for a short period of time, until the balance is credited. Clause 4 of Determination 2009/33 provides that the AGSO Account will be abolished when its balance reaches zero.

Limitations in the structure of the Initial Determination

It is not practicable to vary the Initial Determination signed by the delegate of the Minister for Finance and Administration on 31 December 1997 (establishing a Australian Geological Survey Organisation Reserve as a component of the Reserved Money Fund). This is because the format of the determination constrains the amount of information that can be included. Accordingly, a new Account is being established (Determination 2009/34) to provide for the continuation of the activities of the old Account, the incorporation of the necessary changes, and to ensure that the determination is as clear and informative as possible.

Consultation

Geoscience Australia is the agency affected by this instrument.  The agency was provided with drafts of the instrument and agrees with the form of the instrument. As the instrument is for internal machinery of government purposes only, no consultation was considered necessary with other persons (see sections 17 and 18 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003).

Estimates of transactions on the AGSO Account

1. Includes balance debited from the AGSO Account and credited to the new JGGRS Special Account.